Don't Let Go
by Aiyh-Sa
Summary: When twin Two becomes infected with a virus, One must stay strong to save his brother, but can he cope alone?
1. a mysterious illness

Disclaimer: I do not own The Matrix, or anything to do with it. And I don't own the Twins, but I really want to because they're both soooo hot!! I love them! :) Oh yeah, I do own Adrian though, so he's MINE!! ALL MINE!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!! :)  
  
Two. A number. Used to measure amounts, count objects, and rate certain things in order of how good or important they are. Therefore, not as good as One. Strange, considering how they were twins. Two studied his brother, noting how they were, in fact, identical. He knew that they were created together, and they were equal in every aspect. So why was he only Two, when his brother was One? What was it that separated them?  
  
"It doesn't matter," One said casually, reading his brother's thoughts. Two shrugged, and they continued walking down the hallway of Merovignian's lair. Not that it was a lair, really, but Two insisted on calling it that. He thought it sounded cool. And besides, it drove Merovignian nuts.  
  
Two stopped suddenly, noticing something he hadn't realised before. The room seemed to be getting hotter, then colder again. He looked around, and noticed how it took several seconds for his vision to focus each time he moved his eyes. He glanced over at One, who was saying something to him while walking on, unaware that Two had stopped, but he couldn't make out what his twin was saying. It was as if he was speaking through a wall. The room seemed to be spinning around him, and he felt as if he could hardly move. He walked forward quickly, tapped One on the shoulder to get his attention, tried to say something, and collapsed.  
  
"Two?" One crouched on the floor next to his unconscious brother, trying desperately to rouse him. Something was wrong. He tilted Two's head gently up, inspecting his features for any sign of what might have caused him to collapse. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he looked up, to see Persephone walking idly down the corridor. He ran over to her, catching her by the arm before she could walk away.  
  
"Where's Adrian?" He asked, referring to Merovignian's personal mechanic and programmer. Persephone shrugged.  
  
"I don't know. I think he went into the parking lot."  
  
"Okay, I need you to get him for me." Persephone raised an eyebrow in confusion, and One shook his head. "There's no time to explain. I can't go because I need to make sure that Two is okay, and...just hurry, okay?" Persephone smirked.  
  
"Since when did you give me orders?" She asked slyly, and One groaned with frustration.  
  
"Please, just go," he moaned, and Persephone strolled off towards the parking lot, leaving One alone with his twin. 


	2. Virus codes

"So what happened to him?" One asked Adrian, his eyes fixed on Two's motionless body as he lay on a metal table. Adrian sighed.  
  
"Wish I knew. It could be anything. I'm guessing it was probably a corrupted line of code in him or something. I'll check it out." One nodded and watched Adrian leave the room, then turned back to his brother. He took Two's cold, limp hand in his own, a small sigh escaping from his pale lips. He felt so lost. He didn't understand any of this, and as much as he hated to admit it, it scared him to think that he might lose his brother. They did everything together. They worked as a team, whether it was to guard Merovignian and Persephone, or simply to see how much they could wind up Merovignian before he lost his temper. Two was all he had. He was One's only family, friend, and partner in crime. Now, as One sat in the dark technician's quarters with his brother, for the first time in his life he was worried he might have to face everything alone from now on.  
  
"This ought to help," One glanced up, as Adrian re-entered the room dragging a large machine with him. It was a large black computer, with wires streaming off it in all directions, and seemed to be covered in dials and small screens. He took a large headset off a stand attached to the machine, and placed it around Two's head. One released his brother's hand and stepped back, puzzled. Adrian smiled.  
  
"This baby will detect any faulty lines of code in Two's programming, and will allow me to correct it." One grimaced, not daring to imagine what would happen if Adrian got the programming wrong.  
  
"So, you'll be fixing the program yourself?" He asked, trying not to reveal his increasing feeling of dread. Adrian nodded, oblivious to the nervous tone in One's voice.  
  
"Yeah, I pretty much know what I'm doing with the coding, so it shouldn't take long to sort him out." With that Adrian plugged in the machine and switched it on, smiling to himself as the familiar lines of code began to run down the screen in front of him. He started typing away on the keyboard jutting out from underneath the small black screen, and One turned back to look at Two. It all seemed so surreal. Instead of the strong, determined character that he was used to seeing, One found himself face to face with a helpless, weak individual. Two's face usually glowed with a determined, firm expression, with a hint of sarcasm gleaming in his dark eyes, but now his face showed only pain and exhaustion. Suddenly Two moaned slightly, his breathing quickening. One looked over at Adrian, no longer bothering to hide his increasing fear.  
  
"What's happening?" He asked urgently, and Adrian shook his head, hammering at the keyboard.  
  
"I dunno. Some kind of program seems to be writing itself within his code, maybe I can freeze it and try and identify it."  
  
"Well hurry!" One said, his voice rising in panic. He looked back at Two, who was tossing and turning on the metal table, moaning continuously as if experiencing some terrible nightmare. One leant over and pressed the palm of his hand against Two's forehead, wincing slightly as he withdrew it.  
  
"He's burning up," he murmured, and walked up to Adrian. "Isn't there anything you can do?" Adrian turned to face One and shook his head solemnly.  
  
"Until I discover what's up with the code, I can't do anything. If I try to alter the code in any other way, it might cause more harm. Besides -" He stopped suddenly, his eyes flickering towards the code that streamed steadily down the screen, like raindrops on a window. "What's this..." his voice trailed off as he typed in a few lines of code, then began frantically pummelling at the keyboard, inputting endless lines of code in the present code. "That's it," he said, his eyes now fixated on the screen. One leaned over and watched the screen, half-understanding what he saw. Suddenly he reeled backwards, clutching at his head. He had felt none of his brother's pain as of yet, but now it seared through him, like fire shooting across a trail of petrol. He groaned, doing his best to stifle cries of pain. Adrian frowned with concern, trying not to take his eyes off the screen in front of him.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked nervously, and One looked up, trying to shake off the nauseating pain that refused to budge from his mind.  
  
"Two is in pain," he replied, slowly getting to his feet. "You need to do something to help him now. If we don't help him, it will be too late." Those last few words were spoken in such a tone that Adrian felt a lump rising in his throat. He forced it back down and nodded, searching through the endless lines of code for a hint of something that would save Two. Then he saw it. Among Two's normal code was something else, lines of code that seemed out of place. Virus codes.  
  
"I've found it," he began, when Two began moaning again. One sprinted over to his brother, watching helplessly as he began convulsing, his breathing coming in short rasps.  
  
"Do something!!" One shouted, and Adrian began typing away again, smiling triumphantly now that he finally understood what he had to do.  
  
"Okay, I've figured it out," he said, tapping at the keyboard. "There are ten lines of virus code here. I don't know how they got into him, but they've been taking over his normal program. I'll need to remove each one separately."  
  
"Then he'll be okay?" Adrian nodded.  
  
"Yeah, that'll sort it out."   
  
One sighed. "Okay, do it." He looked over at his brother again, who was lying still again, and gently wiped some of the sweat off Two's forehead.  
  
"Hang in there..." He turned around to watch Adrian begin to delete the virus codes from Two's programming.  
  
"Okay, two down, eight to go," Adrian muttered to no one in particular, carefully locating and deleting each line of code. This was easy. Almost too easy. No matter how hard he tried, Adrian couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling growing inside him. He slowly deleted the third code, then paused, his eyes widening as he stared in horror as he watched the screen. The virus was duplicating.  
  
"Uh, we got a problem here," he said quietly, and One closed his eyes, not wanting to look.  
  
"What is it?" he sighed, and Adrian fell silent. Without even being told, One had a horrible feeling that he knew already. "It's duplicating, isn't it?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." One sighed again and looked down at his unconscious brother, wishing that there was some way he could save him. *Please hold on*, he said in his head, then stopped. He could feel something growing inside his head. He knew this feeling. Two was trying to communicate with him. He took his brother's hand again, holding onto it as if Two's life depended on this small action.  
  
"This ain't good," Adrian murmured, frantically deleting the viruses as they infested the twin's code. This was too much for him. Even though he tried to remain confident on the surface, inside he was certain he would fail. There was just no hope for Two. Suddenly, as he counted the lines of virus code left in Two's system, he noticed something. They had stopped duplicating, and there were only two left. Cautiously, he deleted one line of virus, then gasped. The remaining code was expanding. It quickly engulfed the other lines of programming, infecting them like a plague. Behind him, Two cried out in anguish, and One clasped his hand tighter, closing his eyes tightly as he attempted to reach into his brother's mind. *Fight it, please try and fight it.*  
  
*Don't leave me…* 


	3. dream space

Two looked around uneasily, trying to figure where he was. Something strange had happened back there, and now he was in a strange space. It wasn't right to call it a place, or a room, or even an area. Just a space. He didn't feel like he was floating, but at the same time he could see and feel no surface beneath him. There was no air, yet he wasn't suffocating. The space was colourless as well, not white or black or grey, just colourless. It was simply space, the physical embodiment of nothingness.  
  
He tried for the third time to locate his brother, to communicate with him in some way, but heard nothing. The space was as silent as it had been ever since he found himself there. Sighing deeply, Two sat down heavily on whatever it was he had been standing on, and rested his head in his hands. He was stuck. He would have had the feeling that the walls were closing in on him by now, if there had been walls. Still, even though the space seemed to go on for infinity, Two knew he was trapped, and that made him feel claustrophobic. He had tried to hide it, tried to act as if he was invincible, but the truth was that he couldn't stand being trapped. It made him feel so vulnerable and helpless, and the longer he was left in a small space, the worse it got for him. Once it had reached a certain stage, only his brother could bring back his sanity. He shut his eyes, trying to imagine that he was safe in Merovignian's lair with his brother, but it was no use. He didn't think he would ever escape. He would just be trapped here forever, left to waste away into the nothingness around him. It was hopeless.  
  
As Two sat there, resting his forehead against his hands, he began to hear something. It was little more than a whisper, but he could hear voice. Puzzled, he looked up, trying to figure out where it was coming from. That's when he realised it. It was inside his head. His brother. He blanked out his mind, concentrating on making out what One was trying to say to him. The voice was so quiet, but as Two focused on it, it began to grow louder, until he could make out a few words of what it was saying.  
  
*Fight it.*  
  
*Don't leave me...*  
  
Filled with a new feeling of confidence and determination, Two rose steadily to his feet. He knew now that his brother was searching for him, and needed him. He concentrated on sending a reply to his twin brother, knowing that if he could just let him know where he was, then maybe One could get him out of this place. After a few moments of concentration, he finally found a link with his brother's mind, and focused on projection these few words he knew would tell his brother that he was still alive, and needed him.  
  
*Please help me...*  
  
Two drew his legs towards his chest slowly, resting his chin on his knees. He was willing to wait for as long as it took for his brother to hear him and send a reply. He wanted out, he hated this place more than anything else. He remembered the last time he had been trapped in a confined space for a long time, and as painful as it was to think about it, he now found himself unwillingly reminiscing the whole event.  
  
"Two? Come on man, where are you?" Two could hear his brother's voice, but it sounded far away, and even if he was nearby, Two was too frightened to even make a noise. Earlier that day, he had got into an argument with Persephone, who had decided to get revenge on him, and had somehow lured him into a janitor's closet. He couldn't even remember how she had done it now, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was trapped, and as far as he knew there was no way out. Desperately, he started tugging at his hair, as that familiar feeling began to creep over him. He felt as though the walls were coming closer, closing in on him and crushing him. Driven to sheer panic, he screamed and pounded on the door, knowing that even phasing wouldn't get him out. He had already tried it, but Persephone had her ways of blocking access to the twins. She had done the same to her bedroom door. Again Two pounded on the door, screaming at the top of his lungs. Finally, feeling totally lost and defeated, he slumped to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. He needed One, but his brother still hadn't found him. Maybe he never will, Two told himself. He just felt so scared and vulnerable.  
  
"Two??" One shouted, frantically searching for his brother. He had heard him scream, and knew the sound all too well. It meant that Two was trapped somewhere, and One was almost certain he knew who had done it. Persephone. She hated Two, and seemed intent on torturing him and making his life misery. Ever since she had found out about his severe claustrophobia, she had used it to her advantage, trapping him in the smallest spaces possible whenever possible. And although it happened rarely, when Two was confined to a small space for too long, he snapped.  
  
Two whimpered quietly, drawing his arms tightly around him. He couldn't make sense of anything anymore, and his fear had left him numbed. He was blinded by the endless darkness of the small room, and could hear nothing but his own breathing. He whimpered again, feebly kicking the door, and closed his eyes, not caring anymore. Suddenly, his head jerked up, as he heard someone banging on the door. He blinked, then shrunk back against the wall, not daring to breathe.  
  
"Two? Are you in there?" Two's eyes widened, vaguely recognising the voice, but he was still so shaken with fear that his instinct was to keep away from whoever it was. Again he heard banging, and stared in silent shock as the door started to come off its hinges. He heard a loud crack, and the door was thrown to the side. Blinking against the bright light, Two stared blankly at his brother, who slowly crouched next to him, knowing how hard it would be to get much of a response out of him in this state.  
  
"No," Two moaned, backing away from his brother. He didn't see his twin, only a stranger who, as far as he was concerned, would hurt him if he touched him. One gently laid a hand on his brother's arm, but Two quickly knocked it away, pressing himself closer against the wall behind him.  
  
"Leave me alone!" He wailed, and One shook his head.  
  
"I can't," he said simply, calmly watching his brother. "I can't leave you in this state. Two, it's me, One. You remember?" Two simply stared at One, not knowing what to say. Yes. No. His mind felt as if it was being torn in two; he remembered his brother well enough, yet something inside him refused to let him acknowledge this. Groaning, he closed his eyes again ad held his head in his hands, blocking out all his senses...  
  
*Hang in there. We're trying to sort this out right now.*  
  
Two opened his eyes suddenly, glancing around. He was back in the space again, and he instantly recognised the voice that seemed to speak to him from inside his head. One had heard him, and was trying to reach him. Slowly he got to his feet, and sent another message out to his brother:  
  
*What's happening to me? Where am I?*  
  
He waited for a few moments, then just as he decided that One hadn't heard him, he heard his brother's voice again, echoing in his mind.  
  
*You've been affected by a virus of some kind. You're in Adrian's lab, and you've been out cold for the last few hours. Adrian's trying to get rid of it, but it's taking over your code.* Two frowned, trying to figure out why he was in this space. This wasn't Adrian's lab, his brother was nowhere to be seen, and as far as he could tell, he wasn't infected by any virus. But then again...he remembered feeling ill earlier, then collapsing. Then he awoke to find himself here...  
  
That's when he realised it. This was all just a dream. He was about to send another message to his brother, when a small cloud of black smoke appeared in front of him. He stared at it in curiosity, watching as it grew, engulfing the space around him. Instantly, he understood. This was the virus. Lines of code flashed before his eyes, twisting around him and disappearing as the smoke touched them. He stepped back hesitantly, trying to avoid the smoke. Suddenly there was a loud boom, and everything exploded in front of him. He turned on his heel and ran, but was cut short by flames that erupted from the smoky ground beneath him. He screamed as it burnt him, but his scream was silent. He could hear muffled voices around him, but couldn't make out what they were saying. They sounded frantic, shouting what seemed to be commands to one another. He could feel an intense pain in his head, weakening him and spreading throughout his body. He dropped heavily to his knees, desperately trying to crawl out of the flames that surrounded him. Once again he heard his brother's voice, calling out to him.  
  
*Fight it, don't give up. I'm not going to lose you.*  
  
Everything went black, then exploded into green light.  
  
"I can't stop it!" Adrian exclaimed, frantically typing away at the keyboard. He started pounding it with his fist, trying to get some kind of response out of the machine, but it was no use. The lines of green code were flashing blood red, and behind him he could hear Two screaming and convulsing. One watched his brother helplessly, barely whispering the single sentence that entered his mind. Adrian again felt a lump rising in his throat upon hearing it, and as he looked behind him, he noticed a single tear trailing down One's pale cheek.  
  
"We can't save him..." 


	4. Giving up

One sat quietly in his chair by the metal table, gazing nonchalantly at the digital clock that sat on Adrian's small workbench. It was a little past 2 in the morning, and as he glanced back at the motionless silhouette of his brother, he couldn't budge that same thought out of his mind. There was just no hope for Two. Adrian hadn't budged from his spot in front of the computer all night, and still hadn't got any closer to healing the twin. He was a lost cause.  
  
Sighing deeply, One rose from his chair and walked slowly to where Adrian sat, intently watching the screen. He tapped Adrian on the shoulder, and the programmer looked over his shoulder, frowning slightly.  
  
"What's up?" One didn't answer straight away, but stared back at his brother and sighed again. This had to be done. There was no other way, he didn't deserve to be put through this pain. It was for his own good. Eventually he looked back at Adrian, his face expressionless.  
  
"We should delete his code." Adrian stared at One, not believing what he had just heard. Shaking his head, he turned back to the computer.  
  
"You shouldn't give up on him yet. He's fighting for his life here, you can't just abandon him. He's your brother, remember?" One walked back over to Two and sat down next to him.  
  
"It has to be done," he said quietly, and Adrian frowned.  
  
"No it doesn't. We can't just give up on him after we've got so far. It's just wrong." One opened his mouth to say something, but Adrian quickly cut him off.  
  
"I don't want to hear it," he said firmly. "I'm gonna try and fix this code, with or without your help. If you don't want to encourage your brother and give him the strength to carry on, that's fine, but I'm not going to let him die like this." With that Adrian turned back to the computer, shaking his head. This wasn't like One. He wouldn't just give up on his twin like that, something must be wrong. Maybe he was beginning to lose hope...  
  
Two rose slowly to his feet, confused about what had just happened. He could see a brilliant green light illuminating the space around him, and the flames that had been previously there had vanished. Instead of burning, he felt a strange tingling sensation travelling throughout his body, making him feel numb. It felt as if he was drifting off to sleep, yet it was an eerie feeling, and not a pleasant one. He looked down, and saw that the green light was creeping over his body, swirling steadily around him like mist. He stepped away from it, watching in curiosity as it disintegrated. Again the green light swirled around him, this time moving faster. He started to feel weary, and he found it hard to focus on anything. Suddenly it hit him what the green light was, and he jumped away from it, panicking. It was death. It crept closer to him, closing in around him. He felt all his strength fading from him, and everything started turning black. No, he told himself firmly. He had to stay alive. He had to keep strong and overcome this, he couldn't let his brother down. He tried to phase, to somehow escape from the emerald substance, but it was no use. As he jumped backwards for a third time, however, he felt something stir inside him. The green light vanished, and everything turned black once more.  
  
Two could hear voices around him again, but this time they seemed much clearer. He recognised his brother's voice, and after a few moments of trying to make sense of things, he realised that the other voice was Adrian's. He could feel something tingling on the palms of his hands, and recognised the feeling of cold steel. He realised that his eyes were closed, and tried to open them, but couldn't. He felt as if something had drained him of all his energy. He tried again to make sense of things, putting together all that he knew of this place. He was obviously lying down, on what seemed to be a metal surface, and he could hear Adrian and One talking, along with the steady whirr of machinery. He could also feel something heavy around his head, like a helmet. Suddenly, it all made sense to him. He wasn't dreaming anymore. He was back in Adrian's lab.  
  
"You can't abandon him!" Adrian nearly yelled, his face mere inches away from One's. "He's your own brother, he's practically a part of you. If you let him die, something will die inside you. Your code isn't complete without his." One didn't speak, but just glared at Adrian, who backed away a few steps. After several seconds, he turned away, gazing back at Two.  
  
"I don't want him to die," he said quietly, leaning back against the side of the large computer. "If I could save him, I would, but there's just no hope left for him. We can't save him, so keeping alive like this is just prolonging his pain. He's a lost cause." Adrian and One sighed simultaneously, and stared at the floor, not knowing what to say next.  
  
"Please..." One glanced up suddenly, hearing a voice whisper in the darkness. He looked over at Adrian.  
  
"Did you say something?" He asked, and Adrian shook his head.  
  
"Nope," he replied, looking puzzled. "I thought it was you. It sounded like you."  
  
"Sounded like me?" One glanced uneasily around then room, then it dawned on him who had spoke. He rushed to the other side of the room, and Adrian followed him, a confused expression on his face until he realised where One was headed. One came to a stop by the metal table and looked down at his brother, watching him for any sign of movement.  
  
"Two? Two, can you hear me?" He asked unsurely, not daring to look away.  
  
"Um, no, I can't hear a word you're saying," Two answered weakly, but with definite sarcasm. One was about to say something in reply, when Two spoke again.  
  
"Listen, please don't give up on me. You said you weren't going to lose me, and you were right. But I can't fight alone." He drew a shaky breath, his eyes flickering open slightly. He looked up at One, who smiled down at him sadly.  
  
"Two, I'm so sorry," he said quietly, and Two smirked.  
  
"S'okay," he whispered. "Just...promise me you'll stand by me, and won't try and abandon me again. I'm not gonna let this take me over, but I need you to help me. Okay?" One nodded, touching his brother on the shoulder lightly.  
  
"Yeah, I promise," he replied, and Two smiled, then closed his eyes again, exhausted. One watched his brother for a while, then looked back at Adrian, who smiled.  
  
"He's out cold again," he said, then glanced over at Two before looking back at One. "So," he began, grinning. "You still given up on him?" One shook his head.  
  
"No way," he answered, looking down at his brother. "We fight together now. As long as I'm not going down, neither is he. I won't let him die like this." Adrian grinned again at his friend, before turning back to the computer monitor. He had a good feeling about this. Now the twins were fighting together again, he knew that nothing could stop them. Whether it was a virus or an enemy they were fighting against, as a team they were indestructible.  
  
Two looked around, noticing that he was back in the "dream space" again. Still, he didn't mind being here anymore. He knew that One wouldn't give up on him, and that was enough of a reason for him to fight. He attempted to connect with his brother's mind, and found that this time, the link was much clearer.  
  
*So, what now?* he asked One, looking around.  
  
*Adrian says the virus codes seem to have grouped together. They should be easier to delete now.* Two nodded, despite the fact that his brother couldn't see him do it, and sat down again, looking around at the space. It was now pitch black, the only light coming from the lines of code that streamed down around him like rain. He knew that this was his own code surrounding him, and a few metres away from where he stood, he could make out the virus code; a block of brilliant red code among the calm green glow of his own program. He was tempted to run over and tear that virus code apart, maul and beat it until it was nothing but dust. Still, he knew it would do no good, and leaned back, watching it intently like a leopard eyeing its prey.  
  
*Allow me to make it easier for you...* Two looked around, hearing a strange voice whisper to him in the darkness. Again, it seemed to speak from inside him, but it was definitely not his brother. He glanced around uneasily, when his gaze focused on the red code in front of him. He gaped in bewilderment as the virus code began spiralling around itself, twisting together and forming some kind of humanoid figure. It was similar to his ghost form in appearance, only it was a deep red, and swirls of flame seemed to spew out of its malicious eyes. Two slowly got to his feet, staring at the figure that stood mere metres away from him.  
  
"Oh, great," he whispered under his breath, stepping backwards slightly. He focused on creating another link with One, feeling slightly comforted by the fact that he could at least contact him for help.  
  
*Uh, One,* he said in his head, cautiously eyeing the strange figure in front of him, *I could use some help here...* 


End file.
